waltzforzizi

Hi! I don't want to answer for everyone but I'd assume they mean what you think.  The 30 should or would include the 5k in the summers. 
My fellowship is 26k per year. 11k in the spring and fall semesters and 4k in the summer. 

I know I'm late on this, but I can't sleep and decided to look at some threads.
The answer is good lord, yes. In fact, I would specifically ask your advisor if you can tag around with them at some point ("oh, I'm going to panel X, would you like to have coffee before and then go?"). I followed my advisor around like we were on our honeymoon at my first conference, which meant I got to meet a ton of people I wouldn't have otherwise been able to. Now I'm established enough (1st year PhD, but have met folks a few times and connect with them on social media) that I set up my own coffees with big names. There's a prof that wrote one of my favorite texts that I now have breakfast with whenever we go to the same conference (and basically let her introduce me to everyone).

At big field conferences there are often a lot of private/semi-private parties taking place in the evening. I've gotten two panels put together from folks I met over drinks in a hotel room.
A good advisor will do this sort of thing for you. My department chair once said that she will introduce us to anyone we want, but we better not shy away when the opportunities come up.

At my uni, when I pay my student fees, I have an insurance included in it and that covers for my medication. I live in Quebec, so a part of my medication costs are covered by public health care. So basically, it costs nothing to me with the school insurance and the public health care combined. 

1. I wish I had known the first few months were going to be so expensive-- finishing up with moving costs, establishing the new place, the new computer, textbooks and school supplies, some new clothes, socializing with the cohort (bar costs!) and Christmas/holiday travel and gifts. Starting a budget earlier would have eased some of that post-Christmas money panic where I wasn't sure if my remaining income/stipend would yield enough savings for summer. Adding excess money worries to the already stressful life changes was unfortunate, so I recommend being honest with yourself, your income, and your expenses as they might play out over a long period of time (and not just month to month).

2. Time budgeting can be just as important as money budgeting. I was great about reading for the first four or five weeks, and then I slipped into the (very common) habit of only doing about half of the reading for any given class. It hasn't hurt my grades, but my choice to socialize or just take a lot of relaxation time at home has probably eroded some of the educational benefits of discussion and reading outside of my research for seminar papers.

3. Speaking of seminar papers and term projects: Start earlier than you ever have before. If you ever procrastinated on your big assignments in the past, this new time at school is the opportunity to break the habit and start treating these assignments like what they are: part of your job, and a stepping stone to your career. Waiting until the last week to research, or the last day to write, is something I see a lot of grad students still doing. Sure, plenty of them are doing okay in terms of grades, but they aren't doing their best work and-- let's face it-- we're getting too old for those late-night shenanigans.

4. Everyone knows you will be busy, so they might not say anything, but try not to lose contact with your friends and family from home. There will be plenty of new friends to be had, and starting fresh relationships can be liberating, but they likely won't be able to replace the deeper roots you've established elsewhere. Don't forget to call or write or facebook with the people who know you best.

I made some Grad School Resolutions last summer (the thread is still kicking around somewhere) about saying yes to invitations and being more positive, and I think that I held to them and they yielded some nice results. There are definitely some other things I might add later, but these are the first that come to mind.

First off, congratulations on your admission!  You totally won the waitlist game.  Long distance high-5.
 
I'll be coming out with my PhD when I'm either 39 or 40.  38 if I'm very, very lucky/speedy. This is clearly my second career.  I agree with lemma - graduating at 30 is not "old."  You can reasonably expect to live until you're 80.  You spent the first 20 years of your life being a child with little-to-know ability to affect your life.  So of the 60 remaining years, you're spending 10 getting a higher education.  That sounds pretty good to me.

So, you deal with it by living life.  Your PhD is not your entire life - you also will have friends, families, relationships, goals, ambitions, and so forth that have NOTHING to do with your PhD.  Your goal during your program (besides, you know, finishing) is to figure out what it takes to get a job.  You have 5 years to do that.  I think I could do pretty much anything if I put my mind to it for 5 years.  Learn Chinese? Sure.  Figure out a Senate run?  No problem.  Become a professional violinist?  With enough dedication, sure.  All you have to do is figure out how to get a job...and you'll be literally surrounded by people who have already been there, knows what it takes, and it is their job to help you achieve that goal.
You got this!  Use the resources you'll have at your university, make connections at other universities (especially in your home country, if that's where you want to end up), and - most importantly - remember to live your life.
The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.

They picked you, so feel free to feel as proud and/or humble as you need at any given moment. At the very least, knowing that you were picked out of the crowd should help keep your head in a positive place when stress or self-doubt starts to hit.

About your dog: I think that depends entirely on you and your program. I am in a social science program where the majority of my analysis and writing can be done from home, and I prefer to work from home or from a library (as opposed to my cube in the windowless cube farm). When I was taking classes I was generally there from 9-6 or so, but now that my coursework is finished I am rarely at the school itself. I go for meetings, seminars, interesting kinds of things and I do most of my work remotely. My time is verrry flexible, and if my building didn't prohibit it I would get a dog in a heartbeat. Another thing to keep in mind: a dog can be a great comfort when you're all stressed out over graduate school.

Advice?

Age:
-Don't feel like you have nothing to offer just because you are younger. I was 22 when I started graduate school. You got accepted to the program for a reason, and chances are you are just as equipped as any older students are to successfully complete the program, just in a different way.

-Your older classmates may be just as terrified as you. Talk to them. You have a lot in common. You are, after all, in the same place.

-You will feel like an imposter, like you don't belong, or like you are constantly behind. Or all three. It's normal. It will pass. (Well, sort of.) People of all ages go through this.

Adviser related:
-If you are lucky enough to get both research interest fit and personality fit perfect, congratulations! But sometimes, personality fit is more important than research interest fit as long as the research isn't too different. A great adviser is interested in your career development, likes you as a person, advocates for you, and wants to hear your ideas. Even if his or her research is quite different from yours, they may give you the autonomy to work on your own projects and just supervise you. A bad personality fit will drive you nuts, even if you love his or her research. Consider that when evaluating your adviser fit. (This will vary by field: research fit may be less important in the humanities, more important in the natural and physical sciences. Social sciences are somewhere in-between.)

-Don't be afraid to be straight up blunt with your adviser when it comes to asking about your progress. Ask if you are where you should be both academic program wise and getting-a-job-after-this-mess-wise.

-Be proactive. Advisers love when you draw up an agenda for your one-on-one meetings, come with talking points and progress to share, have concrete questions to ask, and have overall shown that you have been thoughtful and taken control of your own program. Of course, this won't immediately come easily to you, but in time you will work up to it. Every semester I type up my semester goals, and at the beginning of the year I type up annual goals. I show them to my adviser and we talk about whether they are too ambitious, or whether I need to revise them, and how I can meet them.

-Don't expect your adviser to actually know what courses you have to take to graduate. They will know about comprehensive exams and the dissertation, but a lot of professors don't really keep up with the course requirements, especially if their program is in flux. Get you a student handbook, and find out what you need to take. Map it out in a grid, and check off things when you finish them. Show this to your adviser every semester. You may have to explain how such and such class fills a requirement.

-Nobody loves you as much as you, except your mother. Keep this in mind as you take in advice from all sources, including your adviser. Your adviser is there to guide you, but that doesn't mean you have to do everything he says.

Studying:
-You will have to read more than you ever did before, in less time than you ever have before, and you will be expected to retain more than you ever have before. The way that you studied in undergrad may need some tweaking. Be prepared for this.

-Corollary: you may find that your methods change with age or interests or time. I preferred to study alone in college, but in grad school, I prefer to study in groups. It keeps me on task and the socialization keeps me motivated. You may find that you shift from being a more auditory learner to a visual learner or whatever.

-You will feel behind at first. This is normal.

-At some point you will realize that your professors don't actually expect you to read everything they assign you. This, of course, will vary by program, but there will be at least one class where the reading is actually impossible to do in one week. The point is to read enough that you know the major themes and can talk intelligently about them, and then pick some of the readings to really dig into and think more deeply about.

-For most programs, don't worry so much about grades. If you stay on top of your work and do what you're supposed to, you will probably get an A. How much grades matter varies from program to program. In some programs, a B is a signal that you are not up to par, and more than a few Bs will warrant a discussion with your adviser or the DGS. My program isn't like that - A, B, it's all meaningless. My adviser doesn't even know what my grades are. But at almost all programs, a C means you need to retake the course, and two Cs means you have to convince the DGS not to kick you out.

Extracurricular activity: What's that? No, seriously:
-A lot of your time will be unstructured. You will have coursework, but most grad classes meet once a week for two hours and you may have three classes. You may have meetings with your adviser every so often and some seminars or things to catch (like we have grand rounds and colloquia that are required), but a lot of time will be unstructured. However, since you have so much more work than you had in undergrad, you actually will have less free time than you had in undergrad. This may initially cause you great anxiety. It did for me. Some people love unstructured time, though. (I don't.)

-Because of this, you'll have to be planful about your non-grad school related stuff.

-TAKE TIME OFF. DO it. It's important for your mental health. However you do it doesn't matter. Some people work it like a 9-5 job. Some people take a day off per week (me) and maybe a few hours spread across the week. Some people work half days 7 days a week. However you do it, there needs to be a time when you say "f this, I'm going to the movies."

-Find your happy place, something that keeps you the you you were when you came in. I love working out. It gives me energy and I feel good. I stay healthy. I also love reading fiction, so sometimes I just curl up with a good book, work be damned. You have to give yourself permission to not think about work, at least for a couple of hours a week. You may also discover new hobbies! (I never worked out before I came to graduate school.)

-Your work will creep into all aspects of your life, if you let it. This is why I hate unstructured time. You will feel guilty for not doing something, because in graduate school, there is ALWAYS something you can do. ALWAYS. But since there will always be more work, there's no harm in putting it aside for tomorrow, as long as you don't have a deadline.

-You may need to reach outside of your cohort for a social life. None of my close friends are in my doctoral cohort. I've met master's students in my program, master's students in other programs, and I know a few non-graduate students I hang out with, too. Go to graduate student mixers. (If your university doesn't have any, organize some, if you like planning parties.) Join a student group that doesn't take up too much time. I had a doctoral acquaintance who kinda laughed at me because I joined some student groups other than the doctoral student one, and I was usually the only doctoral student in those groups, but I met some close friends (and future job contacts) and had a good time.

-DO NOT FEEL GUILTY FOR WANTING A LIFE OUTSIDE OF GRADUATE SCHOOL. This is paramount. This is important. You are a well-rounded, complex, multifaceted human being. NEVER feel bad for this. Everybody wants some kind of life outside of work. Yes, you may loooove your field, but that doesn't mean you want to do it all day long. Some other doctoral students, and perhaps professors, may make you feel bad about this. Don't let them. Just smile and nod. Then disappear when you need to.

Career:
-This is job preparation. Remember that from Day One. Always be looking for ways to enhance your skills. Read job ads and find out what's hot in your field, what's necessary, what's in demand. For example, in my field statistics and methods are a hot commodity, and they're not a passing fad. I happen to really like statistics and methods, so I have pursued that as a concentration of mine.

-Don't be afraid to take on volunteer work and part-time gigs that will give you skills that will be useful both inside academia and out, as long as it's not against your contract. Your adviser may be against it, but he doesn't have to know as long as it doesn't interfere with your work.

-If you want to work outside of academia - if you are even *considering* the possibility - please please definitely do the above. Even if you aren't considering it, consider the possibility that you won't get a tenure-track job out the box and that you may need to support yourself doing something else for a while. You will have to prove to employers that you have developed usable, useful skills and this is one of the easiest ways to do it. But don't overdo it - get the degree done.

-For more academic related ones - always look for opportunities to present and publish. Presentations look good on your CV. Publications look better. When you write seminar papers, wonder if you can publish them with some revision. Write your seminar papers on what you maybe think you may want to do your dissertation on. Even if you look at them three years later and think "these suck," you can at least glean some useful references and pieces from them. Discuss publication with your adviser early and often, and if you have the time and desire, seek out publication options with other professors and researchers. But if you commit to a project, COMMIT. You don't want to leave a bad impression.

-If you can afford it, occasionally go to conferences even if you aren't presenting. You can network, and you can hear some interesting talks, and you may think about new directions for your own research. You can also meet people who may tell you about jobs, money, opportunities, etc.

-Always try to get someone else to pay for conference travel before you come out of pocket. Including your adviser. Do not be shy about asking if he or she can pay. If he can't, he'll just say no. Usually the department has a travel fund for students, but often it's only if you are presenting.

-If you are interested in academia, you should get some teaching experience. There are two traditional ways to do this: TAing a course, and teaching as a sole instructor. If you can help it, I wouldn't recommend doing a sole instructor position until you are finished with coursework. Teaching takes a LOT of time to do right. You should definitely TA at least one course, and probably a few different ones. But don't overdo it, if you can help it, because again, it takes a LOT of time. More than you expect at the outset. If you are in the humanities, I think sole instructor positions are very important for nabbing jobs so when you are in the exam/ABD phase, you may want to try at least one. If your own university has none, look at adjuncting for nearby colleges, including community colleges. (I would wager that the majority of natural science/physical science students, and most social science students, have never sole taught a class before they get an assistant professor job. At least, it's not that common n my field, which straddles the social and natural sciences.)

-Always look for money. Money is awesome. If you can fund yourself you can do what you want, within reason. Your university will be thrilled, your adviser will be happy, and you can put it on your CV. It's win-win-win! Don't put yourself out of the running before anyone else has a chance to. Apply even if you think you won't get it or the odds are against you (they always are), as long as you are eligible. Apply often. Apply even if it's only $500. (That's conference travel!) Money begets money. The more awards you get, the more awards you will get. They will get bigger over time. If you are in the sciences and social sciences, you should get practice writing at least one grant. You don't have to write the whole thing, but at least get in on the process so that you can see how it's done. Grant-writing is very valuable both in and outside of graduate school.

-Revise your CV every so often. Then look and decide what you want to add to it. Then go get that thing, so you can add it.

-The career office at big universities is often not just for undergrads. I was surprised to learn that my career center offers help on CV organization and the academic job search, as well as alternative/non-academic career searches for doctoral students. In fact, there are two people whose sole purpose it is to help PhD students find nonacademic careers, and they both have PhDs. This will vary by university - some universities will have very little for grad students. Find out before you write the office off.

-It's never too early to go to seminars/workshops like "the academic job search inside and out", "creating the perfect CV," "getting the job," etc. NEVER. Often the leader will share tips that are more aimed towards early graduate students, or tidbits that are kind of too late for more advanced students to take care of. This will also help you keep a pulse on what's hot in your field. It'll help you know what lines you need to add to your CV. And they're interesting.

Other:

-Decide ahead of time what you are NOT willing to sacrifice on the altar of academia. Then stick to it.
I'm serious. If you decide that you do NOT want to sacrifice your relationship, don't. If it's your geographical mobility, don't. I mean, be realistic, and realize that there will always be trade-offs. But you have to think about what's important to you for your quality of life, and realize that there is always more to you than graduate school.

-If you don't want to be a professor, do not feel guilty about this. At all. Zero. However, you will have to do things differently than most doctoral students. Your adviser will probably never have worked outside of the academy (although this may vary depending on the field) so he may or may not be able to help you. But you have a special mission to seek out the kinds of experiences that will help you find a non-academic job. Test the waters with your adviser before you tell him this. My adviser was quite amenable to it, but that's because I told him that my goal was to still do research and policy work in my field just not at a university, AND because it's quite common in my field for doctoral students to do non-academic work. If you're in a field where it's not common (or where your professors refuse to believe it's common, or it's not supposed to be common)…well, you may be a little more on your own.

-Every so often, you will need to reflect on the reasons you came to graduate school. Sometimes, just sit and think quietly. Why are you doing this to yourself? Do you love your field? Do you need this degree to do what you want to do? Usually the answer is yes and yes, and usually you'll keep on trucking. But sometimes when the chips are down you will need to reevaluate why you put yourself through this in the first place.

-To my great dismay, depression is quite common in doctoral students. Graduate work can be isolating and stressful. Luckily your health insurance usually includes counseling sessions. TAKE THEM if you need them. Do not be ashamed. You may be surprised with who else is getting them. (I found out that everyone in my cohort, including me, was getting mental health counseling at a certain point.) Exercise can help, as can taking that mental health day once a week and just chilling. Don't be surprised if you get the blues…

-…but be self-aware and able to recognize when the depression is clouding your ability to function. Doctoral programs have a 50% attrition rate, and this is rarely because that 50% is less intelligent than, less motivated than, less driven than, or less ambitious than the other 50% that stays. Often they realize that they are ridiculously unhappy in the field, or that they don't need the degree anymore, or that they'd rather focus on other things in life, or their interests have changed. All of this is okay!

-You will, at some point, be like "eff this, I'm leaving." I think almost every doctoral student has thought about dropping out and just kicking this all to the curb. You need to listen to yourself, and find out whether it is idle thought (nothing to worry about, very normal) or whether you are truly unhappy to the point that you need to leave. Counseling can help you figure this out.

-Don't be afraid to take a semester or a year off if you need to. That's what leaves of absence are for.

Lastly, and positively…

…graduate school is great! Seriously, when else will you ever have the time to study what you want for hours on end, talk to just as interested others about it, and live in an intellectual community of scholars and intellectuals? And occasionally wake up at 11 am and go to the bank at 2 pm? Sometimes you will want to pull out all of your hair but most of the time, you will feel fulfilled and wonderfully encouraged and edified. So enjoy this time!

It didn't hit me until I walked onto campus and got my office. That first day. 
It really hit me after the first coursework seminar. 

It still hasn't hit me! I mean I am going to Berkeley with a pretty good package and have yet  to cry or scream out loud. I think it will hit me on my first day. 
I'm kind of upset that it hasn't haha.

It still hasn't hit me! I mean I am going to Berkeley with a pretty good package and have yet  to cry or scream out loud. I think it will hit me on my first day. 
I'm kind of upset that it hasn't haha.

I always encourage everyone to try and apply, even if the university you're looking at says they won't consider you because you absolutely never know.
I had a 2.7 undergrad GPA and was on academic probation twice while I was an undergrad. Back when I was an arrogant 20 year old I was the poster child for "C's get degrees!"
About a year and a half ago, I applied to a university that flat out said "if you're under a 3.0 we won't even look at you" and brags the average accepted student has a 3.8 GPA. I was very aware that my 2.7 was going to be a problem so did I everything I could to address it before sending my application.
1. I studied like crazy to make sure I got a decent GRE score, which I could then use to show that I'd mended my slacker ways. Ended up with 168 verbal and 5.5 analytical writing. Quant was a garbage 144 but submitted it anyway because I wasn't applying for a math based program so who cared. I was applying to a research heavy university and I suspected the verbal and writing was what they truly cared about.
2. Applied for an "off season" start date. I knew most people apply for Fall start dates, which meant I was going to be competing with a lot more people if I went with Fall. So instead I opted to go for the Spring start date to increase my chances.
3. Work experience. This is, honestly, what I think saved me. I had 10 years of work experience in a related field and I made sure they knew all about the projects I worked on and the achievements I'd gotten from my companies and clients. In the SOP I essentially said "Yes, my undergrad GPA was garbage but look at all the amazing things I've done since then. I have grown up, matured, and proven that I have learned my lesson and can be successful in this field."
4. I didn't ask for an assistant-ship or financial help from the department. Again, to increase my chances I didn't want to look like I was competing with other applicants over the limited financial opportunities and I didn't want them to consider me as a "burden" on the department in any way. (This didn't mean I couldn't ask for it or get help later. The department actually offered me a TA job my second semester despite me telling them in my application that I didn't need it so I only ended up paying tuition for my first semester.)

With that plan in place I basically YOLO applied to that one school and two weeks later they sent me an offer of admission. Like I said, I really didn't think I was going to be accepted because literally everything the school and department said indicated that someone like me was never going to be considered and it is a top 10 school. 
So, you never know. Even if you have a low GPA and are nervous, do your best to show you've matured since then and give it a shot!

I hear most people that go to Berkeley are smug and overly defensive about their school since it's in an undesirable city, is this true? Oh wait nevermind you already answered.

@waltzforzizi crazy right?! I got to visit because my department had visiting days during my work's break and they reimbursed my trip!
Before applications and while doing official visits, I got to visit a few schools; 2 ivies, one very urban campus, a few good private schools. I truly thought Berkeley was the most beautiful! Keep in mind that it's west coast, so it won't be "East Coast Preppy," although the school is definitely well-kept and has magnificent buildings. I love more Spanish/Mediterranean architecture, and the weather was stunning. The campus overlooks San Francisco Bay, and there's tons of green space. I thought the area around campus was pretty nice as well. Tons of little shops, book stores, coffee places, etc. There is a considerable homeless population around campus, but I went to a large, urban state school and I'm used to it, so they didn't bother me (they don't seem to bother most kids at all, they can just be a little loud).
To be quite honest, it was prettier than it is in photos. The terrain is varied, and I thought the energy was nice! Very involved students who work their butts off, but were still sunbathing and all of that. Doe library is one of the most beautiful libraries I've seen-- marble, classic, mahogany, the whole 9 yards. I was completely awestruck, even after having seen other campus libraries!
I definitely suggest visiting campus if you can. I was honestly pretty set on another school before visiting, but the campus and my department's energy completely won me over.

I finished undergrad at Berkeley in 2016.  My responses to each of your points in italic:
International House (I-house) is the most desirable on campus housing I guess, but it's very expensive.  The vast majority of students (grad and undergrad) do not live in campus housing. North Berkeley/north of campus is the safest area within walking distance of campus I literally never felt unsafe anywhere around campus.  I'm a 6' tall male so that probably helps.  Northside is quieter than Southside.  More grad students live on Northside compared to Southside. A lot of co-ops over there too. "Gourmet Ghetto" in North Berkeley is a collection of very nice and unique restaurants True but there's good food in every direction. Stay away from Peoples Park You can walk by it during the day with zero issue.  You can mostly likely also walk by it at night with zero issue.  People camping out there rarely bother passersby and if they bother you it's usually just yelling...pretty harmless. South of campus gets sketchy very quickly Nah.  With the exception of People's Park, Southside is fine.  Tons of undergrads live over there, there are plenty of shops and restaurants too. If there are protests/riots they often start south of campus and end up in Downtown Berkeley Sure, but the protests are rarely as dramatic as the media makes them out to be.  Once I got secondhand teargassed on my way home (Southside) but honestly that's on me because I knew the protests were going on and I chose to take the shortest path home (through the protest) rather than go around. Use campus shuttle/door-to-door/escort service at night, don't walk home alone at night Campus shuttle/Bear Walk are great, but certainly not necessary.  Campus and streets are well lit.  I've taken the shuttle because I'm lazy and don't want to walk.  Tons of people take it for safety and/or convenience. Don't put your guard down even on campus Ok this is bonkers.  Don't be dumb, but it's not like someone is gonna come snatch your laptop out of your hands in broad daylight.  Be smart and aware of your surroundings at night, don't leave your stuff unattended, and lock your bike up very very well (U-lock for the frame and one wheel, cable for the other wheel, and probably a seat lock for good measure). Also don't go in the eucalyptus grove at night. Parking is often at capacity plus parking garages have been targets for muggers so commuting isn't desirable True.  I've been in the area for 5+ years and haven't owned a car.  Don't need one (shout out to BART and AC Transit)  
ld;dr Berkeley isn't anywhere near the level of unsafe/scary that people on the internet seem to think it is.  It's and awesome place.
I hope you (and others) find this helpful.  Also, based on your username, I'm assuming you're a M.Arch. candidate, so I might see you around.  I might be starting the Architecture MS this fall.
Go Bears.

I think you have two very good choices but they actually seem very different to me. I'll tell you my choice (if I were in your shoes) and my reasoning, but I just want to make it clear that I don't think any one choice is objectively better than the other, it's is all due to the subjective things each of us values.
I'd choose School 2. The only unknowns from your initial post were advisor fit (you've now said they are both great, awesome!) and actually being able to live on the stipend (not clear if this is the case for School 2). So if the stipend for school 2 is still enough to get by (i.e. current grad students aren't going into debt and the way they live is acceptable to you), then I'd definitely choose School 2.
The reasons are:
- I've lived in a place like School 1 before and I was miserable. 
- There's a ton of value in having more hands-on experience and direct interactions with your research.
- I personally did not choose grad school for the college life/experience and I was personally looking for departments that ran more like a research institute rather than a typical college. 
- Not having to TA means more time for research
Ultimately, for me, it all boils down to the fact that grad school is a big commitment and a huge chunk of my time. If I am going to do grad school, I'd want to make sure I am happy with my life (e.g. not a place like School 1 and be able to live on the stipend) and also that I get the most research-bang for my buck. The no-TAing, intensive research environment (i.e. everyone at the hospital is there for research, rather than classes etc.) and the hands-on experience sound like the ideal graduate program to me!

Thanks! I’m going with University of Illinois at Chicago/The Field Museum of Natural History joint PhD program!

sometimes i feel like i'm the only one who wants to get a phd (eventually) but has absolutely no intention of going into academia right away.. i like pounding the ground too much and digging in the dirt. academia can wait until i throw out my back more than once a month.

Academics, anthropologists included, sell themselves short by considering a. that getting a job outside of academia is failing in life, b. that they have no marketable skills outside of a university.
 
I know lots of people who studied anthropology, from undergrad to PhD level, who are doing all sorts of weird and wonderful things outside of a university, whether that's in marketing, consulting, working for government agencies, NGOs, or the UN. Especially nowadays with online learning and constant budget cuts to traditional departments, the university is not the only game in town in terms of research and knowledge production. But professors and supervisors still tell their students to look for jobs inside the ivory tower, as if we don't have anything to offer the real world. I mean, as anthropologists we shouldn't be so dismissive of people outside of academia, but I still think the majority are. As a result, you still have a flood of recent doctorates who are convinced that they will only be happy when they fill exactly the same role their old supervisors held/hold, and will accept horrible working conditions/pay/precarious employment with no research opportunities just for a shot of that. And THAT'S why universities can get away with all their budget and funding cuts, horrible administration, etc. Because we still hold this elitist assumption that that is the only way we can be intellectually "free".
 
To me this is bs. We have to admit that the majority of us won't get there. But there are plenty of places anthropologists can work outside of the university as long as we can market our skills. And hopefully when we value our own academic labour instead of slavishly worshipping the outdated idea of the enlightened scholar spending their life pondering the big questions of Culture with a capital C, hopefully we'll be more valued by university admin as well.
 
I'm doing a PhD because it's the best chance I have to spend a few years researching something I'm passionate about, learning from other people and hopefully building on knowledge. If I can get a job inside the university afterwards, amazing. If I can get a job outside the university afterwards, also amazing.
 
- more than slightly pinched from here http://www.anthropologiesproject.org/2013/01/busting-apart-silos-of-knowledge.html

A big thing for me was the reception I received from the POI after emailing them. Unlike what most people have posted, I had established communication with my POI MONTHS before the app was due. I had an hour-long Skype chat with one professor 6 months before I applied. Everything was great, but they weren't the best at communicating. They took several months reply to my emails and confirm a date to Skype. They have a large-ish family, but still. It was a perfect fit for me adviser and program wise. I still hope to work with them in the future.
My other POI, however,  is AMAZING and had steadily replied to my emails with an unbelievable amount of detailed information. They weren't concise at all though, haha. They answered every question imaginable three months before I applied. I am still in close contact with them. They continue to provide assistance, praise, reassurance, and encouragement. I can't put into words how much they changed the application process for me. I actually feel capable of doing well in a Ph.D. program because of them. I know that the department will be everything I need or want. They are just..amazing haha.
I was accepted into both programs but withdrew my application from school 1 on the day they sent me the acceptance letter. Crazy, right? 
Anyway, this was a factor because I want to feel accepted and know the true inner workings of a program before going. It also let me know how hands on my POI would be and how much they care about supporting me. 

I just wanted to say I really appreciate what a great forum this is, and how much having a support network like this has made things so much better. 
This past academic year and a half has been exceptionally difficult for me. I entered my program full of beans and and have since felt like I've let my department and my supervisor down repeatedly. Life got in the way (changing doctors from moving, chronic medical condition deteriorating, spending weeks recuperating part of which was in the hospital, difficult supervisor, sexual harassment, death of a mentor, supporting mentally ill family member; you name it!) and it just spiralled out of control from there. I was / am the grad student department chairs cringe when they see because yet another something has happened. There are days I am convinced my department made a mistake and I just slipped in by mistake. (This is not a post asking everyone to reassure me I'm doing well and all that!)
I could not have done it without all of you, taking time to respond, support, encourage, and give perspective to strangers on the Internet. Many of you support each other without judging. 
A special shout out to the ?admin? and / or just really smart people like @TakeruKand @fuzzylogician and @telkanuru and @rising_star and  @Sigaba for replying to virtually every panic stricken, lost, and scared graduate student on this board. I am sure I've missed some people, but know I do appreciate you. My memory sucks from all my drugs, so I shamelessly blame that.
If you ever feel like graduate school is just too much and feel like quitting (that's me very often lately), come here. You are not alone. This community will support you...or knock some sense into your head.

I rarely bring my laptop to campus, but I use my phone for a lot of things I'd rather do on my laptop. I'm getting a tablet soon, and I think that will help in my situation. It's possible that a laptop may be more/less important depending on your program. Personally, I would hold off on buying another laptop until you get a feel for how much you need it.

I know there's a thread for this somewhere else on the site, but I thought I'd start one specifically for anthropology. I also thought we could separate this discussion from the main 2018 thread to be respectful of those who are still waiting or who didn't make it this year.
I'm curious about the factors that are primarily influencing the decision-making of those who received more than one offer. Are you asking for advice from anyone? Who is helping you decide?
In my case, these are the things that I'm considering, in order of importance.
advisor and committee: What would my relationship with my prospective advisor be like? Which in the faculty can serve in my committee?   funding package (assuming all options are fully funded): How does the stipend compare with the cost of living there? How heavy is the teaching load? Is there funding for field visits, language training, and conference participation?  location: Do I really want to live there for 6+ years? What would my life outside the university be like? (Or, would I have one at all?) graduate placement: Where are their graduates now? In addition to academia, are there other industries where there graduates have ended up in? academic culture: What's the relationship between faculty and students like? What activities are there in the department beyond the curriculum?  university resources: What centers or institutes does the university have that could provide me with additional support? prestige: How are the university and the department regarded by peers? What do you think? Would you add anything to the list? Or would you put those things in a different order?
Oh and, congratulations to all of us! I feel like we've been together through such an emotional roller coaster ride!

Just got accepted to Chico State! I'm ecstatic but confused. I got into UCF fully funded with a stipend and a fellowship. I know the funding opportunities aren't nearly as good at Chico. But it's Chico, my top choice. Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! 

After a long season of applications, I’m so grateful and happy to have two funded offers from LSU and Kent State! Anyone want to weigh in on the programs? I know LSU is fairly new! 

So I'm a 'do work on the computer constantly' person and I had a HUGE very heavy computer for undergrad (its name is Marty McFly) that I still have to this day. I knew that I didn't want to carry it everywhere but on that ~grad student stipend~ a newer computer wasn't really an option, so I opted/would highly reccomend a Chromebook. They're as cheap as $150 and SUPER lightweight (mine weighs like nothing). It's awesome because most days I toss it in my bag and go and I'm able to do work. They also have an insanely long battery life. 
Caveat: they only run Chrome OS. So if I need to run SPSS or Stata or something, I have to use my regular PC, but for just writing papers and reading articles and responding to emails, this thing has been amazing. Plus I do everything in Google Docs anyway so if I use my other computer, it's all there. 
1,000,000/10 would reccommend as a solution if your campus doesn't have a lot of computers for free use!